WASHINGTON  President Bush on Friday morning signed a measure to extend unemployment benefits by at least seven weeks in every state, White House spokeswoman Dana Perino said.

The Senate on Thursday overwhelmingly approved the bill, which also calls for benefits to be extended by 13 weeks in states with an unemployment rate of at least 6 percent.

The bill was approved by the House in October.

Perino said in a statement that Bush will sign the legislation "because of the tight job market."

In September, Bush threatened to veto a broader stimulus bill that included the extension of jobless benefits.

In most states, unemployment benefits are paid for a maximum of 26 weeks.

The Senate vote came on the same day the U.S. Department of Labor reported that the number of people filing for unemployment insurance had reached a 16-year high.

Initial filings for state jobless benefits increased by 27,000 to 542,000 for the week ended November 15. This marks the third time since 1992 that initial claims have exceeded 500,000.

Claims reached the highest total since the week ending July 25, 1992, when 564,000 initial claims were filed.

Bob Brusca, an economist at FAO Economics, said the week's sharp uptick in claims an ... Читать дальше »

President-elect Barack Obama is poised to restore the United States' image in the international community, but experts say the president-elect must show the world that his actions will live up to his rhetoric.

Receiving a warm welcome is not the same as maintaining one, and Obama has a lot of work to do to improve the U.S. brand.

America's image has declined in nearly every region of the world in recent years, but Obama's victory "enables the United States to start again with a clean slate," according to John Quelch, the senior associate dean at Harvard Business School.

"Americans can actually go to dinner parties and cocktail receptions around the world today and not have to apologize for the United States the way they have had to do the last several years," he said. "The election has made life a little bit easier for Americans living and traveling abroad to hold their head up high again."

The United States' tarnished reputation has been fueled by a combination of factors, including opposition to U.S. policies like the war Iraq and alleged torture and abuse of prisoners, the perception of hypocrisy, unilateralism, and the perceived war on Islam, according to a congressional report released in June.

Obama represents a "clean break" from the past, and his election is the first big step toward change, said Dick Martin, a ... Читать дальше »

After the fire, all that was left of Jonathan Reyes' massive Hot Wheels collection was a piece of metal that once was part of a toy car.ut on Wednesday, the arrival of two cardboard boxes at his grandparents' house sent 7-year-old Jonathan flying to the door, said his mother, Jan Reyes.

Mattel, the company that makes Hot Wheels, sent racetracks, play sets, stickers, folders, T-shirts, hats and hundreds of toy cars.

"He was speechless," Reyes said. "He didn't say anything. He just smiled. He opened it up. It was like Christmas. All of us were bawling, crying. He was so happy."

Jonathan, who has autism, meticulously collected more than 500 Hot Wheels. But all that was destroyed when his Sylmar home, along with hundreds of other structures, were burned down by wildfires in Los Angeles County.

Toys are like anchors for children with autism, psychologists say. They like to play with the same toys, eat familiar foods and be in a consistent environment. When faced with unpredictable changes, they can feel frustrated or anxious and become disruptive, according to experts.

On Tuesday, Jonathan and his parents searched for his toys among piles of debris, but they found only a piece of a Hot Wheels car and a rusty tricycle. The rest of Jonathan's toys were reduced to ashes. ... Читать дальше »

PHOENIX, Arizona  Two years ago, Karen Daniel was wider around than she was tall.

Weighing 375 pounds, the 45-year-old wife and mother had high blood pressure; her knees hurt and she was always hot. She felt fatigued and could barely breathe at the slightest exertion. Even the simplest things became a chore -- tying her shoes, crossing her legs, getting in and out of the car or trying to fit into a chair with arms.

"I wasn't living ... I was just existing," recalled Daniel.

She hadn't always struggled with her weight. Daniel said she started gaining weight at age 18 after moving out of her parents' home to live on her own. By the time she married her husband, Paul, at age 22, she weighed 225 pounds.

"Whenever something happened, I used food," said Daniel. "It was like my drug of choice was food. I never did drugs or alcohol. I was addicted to food."

Seven months after her wedding and another 50 pounds later, Daniel became pregnant with her first child. Instead of gaining weight during the pregnancy, she lost 75 pounds after a doctor warned her not to use it as an excuse to eat. But after her daughter Sarah was born, Daniel gained back all the weight she'd lost and then some.en years later, she weighed 300 pounds and became pregnant with their second child, McKenna. Again, she lost weight during the pregn ... Читать дальше »

MOSCOW, Russia (AP) -- The Kremlin says President Dmitry Medvedev has submitted a draft bill that would extend the term of Russia's president from four to six years.

Medvedev said in his state of the nation address last week that he would seek constitutional change that would extend the president's term by two years. Constitutional experts say the proposed changes would only apply to future presidents.

A six-year term could mean 12 more years as president for former president Vladimir Putin -- the current prime minister -- who has not ruled out getting his old job back.

The next election is scheduled for 2012, but Medvedev's swift move to extend the presidential term is raising widespread speculation that Putin might not wait that long.

HARARE, Zimbabwe  The whereabouts of a dozen opposition supporters -- including a mother and her 2-year-old daughter -- remain unknown, weeks after they were seized by Zimbabwean security forces, the U.S. ambassador to Zimbabwe and a human rights lawyers group said Thursday.

"Zimbabwean security authorities seized 12 individuals, including the mother and a 2-year-old child, affiliated with the Movement for Democratic Change, the opposition party," James McGee said Thursday.

"The adults are reportedly being interrogated for their alleged involvement in paramilitary camps in Botswana -- a charge that the Botswanan government had roundly denied," McGee said.

Bright Matonga, Zimbabwe's deputy information minister, said in response: "What is interesting is the involvement of America in the case. It would help if the MDC and their masters would ... be specific instead of just trying to create a bad image of Zimbabwe. There is nothing to comment [on] unless we get something concrete, not this, cooked-up stories."

It was not immediately clear when the alleged arrests occurred. McGee said they took place from October 27 through November 1, while the Zimbabwe Lawyers for Human Rights (ZLHR) said they occurred between October 30 and November 1.

... Читать дальше »

MOSCOW, Russia The Russian parliament approved a constitutional amendment Friday to extend the presidential term from four to six years.

There is widespread speculation in Russian media that the change is aimed at paving the way for a return to the Kremlin by Prime Minister Vladimir Putin, who remains a popular and powerful figure since leaving the president's office in May.

The Kremlin maintains the amendment -- along with other proposed changes ... Читать дальше »